…words and images from England's green and pleasant land…

Archive for the tag “Albert Road”

All the above were taken in the past week in Titchfield in Hampshire, during lunchtime walks to get some fresh air…whereas all of the following were taken today in Portsmouth/Southsea and London. The first is of Guildhall Square in Portsmouth at midday, with the Guildhall being watched over by Queen Victoria…

Portsmouth Guildhall, looking resplendent in the late spring sunshine…

The next is of a book I bought in the Adelphi second-hand bookshop in Albert Road in Southsea early this afternoon. It cost me two pounds fifty, and is a 1938 reprint of a book originally published in 1937. It is the narrative, with paintings and poetry, of a Chinese artist living in London in the 1930s, recording an expedition to the English Lake District, taken in part to escape the London fogs, and also to reconnect with landscapes reminiscent of his home in China…

The Silent Traveller: A Chinese Artist in Lakeland, by Chiang Yee.

From Albert Road, I wandered down to Canoe Lake on Southsea seafront, aware that a procession of naked cyclists would be making its way from the naturist beach at nearby Eastney, along Southsea seafront and beyond. It was one of a series of World Naked Bike Rides taking place at various venues this summer, and it seemed like an event worth recording for posterity here (That said, I’m being very discreet in tagging these photos, restricting the tags to one only, ‘naturism’ ;)). Anyway, here they are, and if nothing else, it was at least a lovely day for such an event…

So here they come, along the seafront road from Eastney…

Unsurprisingly maybe, there were a minority of women cyclists participating, but there were some brave enough to take part…:)

Methinks the character in red here looks distinctly over-dressed ;)…

At nearby Canoe Lake in Southsea, among the attractions is ‘water walking’, a bit of a misnomer, but that’s what it’s called…

And this is what it means…

Further attractions in Southsea this summer…

German fans in Trafalgar Square, prior to this evening’s Champions League Final at Wembley…and a great match it was too :)…

A living statue, north of Trafalgar Square…

Union Flags in Leicester Square…

Finally, close to home, a couple of pictures taken in Whetstone, London N20…

The pedestrianised part of West Street, in Fareham, Hampshire, is home to a number of modern sculptures, constituting the Henry Cort Collection, and easily my favourite amongst them is Anvil Man above ;). He got a fresh coat of paint last summer, to prepare for the visit of The Princess Royal, who came to Fareham to open a nearby children’s play area commemorating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Bonnie, in Grannies’ Attic.

I’m also very fond of Albert Road in Southsea, a street with considerable character. As I was walking along it this morning, this sunlit doll in the window of Grannies’ Attic caught my eye. When I took the photograph, I didn’t notice that she was holding a sign in her left hand, which reads ‘My name is Bonnie’. Coincidence is a curious thing sometimes; at present I am reading John Suchet’s poignant tale of his wife’s dementia, a book entitled ‘My Bonnie’.

The 16:37 Ashford International train, at Platform 2, Victoria station…

I spent the first two dozen years of my life living in the county of Kent, so this is a very familiar sight to me, a train about to head out of Victoria station, through south-east London surburbs, and deep into the Kentish countryside…